Black Wings (Black Wings, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Christina Henry (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 30, 2010

Escorting souls into the afterlife leaves Maddy little time for socializing-until devilishly handsome Gabriel Angeloscuro agrees to rent the empty apartment in her building. But when demons start appearing on Maddy's front lawn, she realizes there's more to her new tenant than meets the eye.

View our feature on Christina Henry's Black Wings

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Madeline Black is getting fed up. Her job is to coax newly dead Chicagoans to the Door to the afterlife. But what if they don't want to go? Her supervisor, J.B., won't accept any excuses. Maddy also desperately needs a roommate to split the bills. When the beautiful Gabriel Angeloscuro (the name a rare clunker on Henry's part) comes to look at the apartment, Maddy invites him in--and thereby welcomes a host of disasters. Enigmatic Gabriel holds the key to the mysteries of Maddy's past, including the murder of her mother. Emotionally battered, confused, and scared, Maddy is above all determined to find the truth. Henry shows that she is up to the challenge of debuting in a crowded genre. The extensive background of her imaginative world is well integrated with the action-packed plot, and the satisfying conclusion leaves the reader primed for the next installment. (Dec.)
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Review

"[F]ast paced, action packed and hardcore--breathing new life into the vast genre of urban fantasy . . .Black Wings is intense, dark and full of surprises."
-RexRobotReviews.com

"Henry shows that she is up to the challenge of debuting in a crowded genre. The extensive background of her imaginative world is well-integrated with the action-packed plot, and the satisfying conclusion leaves the reader primed for the next installment."
-Publishers Weekly

"Henry does an excellent job of unveiling the first layers of her unique world and it's fascinating inhabitants. There's plenty of kick-butt action and intriguing twists to ensure that this story grabs you from the very first page. One to watch!"
-Romantic Times (4 stars)

"A fast-paced first novel . . . Black Wings is a lot of fun."
-FreshFiction.com

"[A]mazing . . . Henry's pacing is incredible and keeps you absorbed, plus the characterization is fantastic . . . I strongly urge all you [urban fantasy] fans to get this book!"
-ReadAllOverReviews.com

"A fun, fast ride through the gritty streets of magical Chicago, Black Wings has it all: a gutsy heroine just coming into her power, bad-ass bad guys, a sexy supernatural love interest, and a scrappy gargoyle sidekick. Highly recommended."
-Nancy Holzner, Author of Deadtown

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Ace; Original edition (November 30, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441019633
• ISBN-13: 978-0441019632
• Product Dimensions: 4.1 x 0.8 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (76 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #228,286 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

CHRISTINA HENRY is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago and enjoys running long distances, reading anything she can get her hands on and watching movies with samurai, zombies and/or subtitles in her spare time. She lives in Chicago with her husband and son.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 76 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars fast paced urban fantasy December 5, 2010

By Paranormal Fan

Format:Kindle Edition

top six reasons to love this book
1. very likable female protagonist who becomes an alpha female who is not above having the occasional cry fest when the situation is warrented.
2. lots of fallen angels... always a cool topic and she had a great take on it that still left a lot of unanswered mysteries about this world to look forward to in future books.
3. the pace of this novel was great... always much action and sluething.
4. romance was not what the plot was centered on ... but there is one that is set on slow boil which i love. i dont need everything to happen in 1 short book... it keeps me looking forward to the next.
5. i really enjoyed the secondary characters and look forward to learning more about them and their motives.
6. any book that ends with lucifer declaring that the main character will be paying back a debt in the future is always a good thing.

top four reasons not to love this book
1. it is obvious that this a first book in a series. it seemed to me that this was an exceptionally short full novel. many of the secondary characters were not fully developed and seemed 2 dimensional.
2. a 30 year old virgin... in chicago... in present day? really? even when i feel it didnt really make a difference in the plot. the main character even said it herself that she had the emotional development of a 3 year old. i hope i didnt just read a YA book. yikes!
3. maybe a few too many plot lines for the length of this novel... which lead to maybe a few too many coincidences. i feel like this book has been edited down to its bare bone essentials.
4. the romance sub plot: the male lead is a little too omega for my tastes. an alpha female needs an alpha male. i hope he will get more of a backbone in the next book.... also i think she is getting more love interests than her personality warrents. and if she so hot it seems like she wouldnt still be a virgin since it sounds like she would have been more than willing if an opportunity in the past would have presented itself.

i really enjoyed this book and will read the next one when it comes out. i am hoping that i will learn more about the characters and unanswered world building questions. this book had all the elements of a great book but the main characters seemed a little flat because of the length of the book. i really felt this would have a spectacular novel if it was 1/3 longer and i could have developed more of a relationship with the main characters. at times the plot felt rushed. Read more ›

42 of 44 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Don't fall for the stars April 30, 2011

By Debbie Richardson

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book has some fairly high starred reviews, don't fall for it. If you are a fan of really well written urban fantasy by authors such as Illona Andrews, Jim Butcher, Mike Carey, you are going to be greatly disappointed in this book. One reviewer said it better than I could "feels like it's been edited down to the bare bones". I agree wholeheartedly. There is an interesting story to be told here, and the size and scope of it should have taken at least 3 books to unfold in its entirety. Instead it's all packed down to one book, with so many characters coming and going that I can't keep track of them all; and not one, nor two, but three suitors for our kick-ass heroine's fair hand. Unfortunately, she's not all that kick-ass.

She's poorly constructed, too many contradictions that just don't add up. Going in the space of four days to no recognizable powers and magical talent to god-inspiring magical talent and almost the ability to control it was just to much to believe. Then there's the job - soul collector. I had no problem with that, and the "bureaucracy" of it all, that was actually humorous. But seriously, we have to believe there are far less agents to collect souls than there are people who die, so how could an agent have any real free time at all, much less days between assignments? It's simply not a mathematical probability. There would have to be non-stop soul collection. And supplements her income by food articles for magazines? That just stuck out, did not feel at all right nor add any value to the story at all.

The only thing I really enjoyed about this book was Beezle, the gargoyle. Other than that, it's a great premise, and I had high hopes, but this author is not there, and this series is not one I'll stick with.

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Angels & Demons November 30, 2010

By UrbanFantasyGuy

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I have nothing but good things to say about this novel. It's about a woman called Maddy who is an Agent, a person who escorts souls of the dead to the "door" to make their choice. The mythology in this book mainly revolves around angels, demons, and nephilim. There are mention of vampires, werewolves, faeries, etc but I believe that is just set up for future novels as there are none in this one. Throughout the book Maddy is learning to control her new found magical powers and constantly getting her butt kicked, and occasionally kicking some butt herself. The best part of this book is her best friend and protector Beezle, a gargoyle. Beezle provides great comic relief all throughout the book and is definitely what moves this book from 4 stars to 5. I'm looking forward to the next novel to see how much more trouble Maddy can possibly get into.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Fresh Take and Highly Enjoyable November 30, 2010

By Alice Timpson

Format:Mass Market Paperback

A fresh take on urban fantasy and a highly enjoyable read. Read it in one day and it was the perfect way to spend the day after Thanksgiving. The heroine is gutsy and funny, the love interest is hot and heavenly, the talking gargoyle is a curmudgeonly lovable sidekick; and we can all relate to her having an anal retentive boss that works your last nerve. The plot moves at a nice quick pace and the story is well developed with enough background information to explain the event but not overwhelm the current action. If you are tired of the same old vampire or shapeshifter stories rehashed over and over then this is the book for you. Maddy Black is an Agent of Death whose job is to escort souls to the after life (not a single vampire or shapeshifter in the book - yeah for originality!!!!).